Management and Utilization of Natural Bamboo Forest: A Case Study in a Demonstration and Model Forest of the Faculty of Forestry, National University of Laos

Abstract

The study investigated the utilization of bamboo, the forest structure and production capacity in a communal natural bamboo forest used by Ban Napo village in Laos. The study used questionnaires to interview a sample of 60 households (70% of the population) to gather information on the socio-economic conditions in the village. A forest inventory based on systematic sampling was conducted in the 28-hectare communal forest, using 10 circular sample plots.

The study showed that in Ban Napo village, there were 86 households with a total population of 450 people and an average number of members per household of 5.23. The main occupation of villagers was farming (93.40%), followed by government officials (3.30%). The annual household income was 30,225 baht. The average quantity of bamboo collected per household per year was 1,994 culms and 75.52 kilograms of bamboo shoots, with the income from bamboo selling being 7,741 baht per annum. There were two species of bamboo found in the communal forest, namely Phai Phang (Dendrocalamus longifimbriatus) and Phai Hia (Cephalostachyum virgatum). Based on the forest inventory, there were 5,057 culms/ha and 103 clumps/ha. In addition, there were 18 species of trees with a diameter at breast height (DBH) greater than 10 cm. The average forest density was 148 trees/ha.

The potential of the communal forest was sufficient to respond to the communal demand, with the productivity of one hectare of bamboo able to meet the requirement of four households; thus, the total forest area of 28 ha could support 110 households.

Keywords: management, utilization, bamboo, Laos